Pub 819 – Hopkins, MN

On weekends, sometimes it’s difficult to get up for breakfast. That’s why brunch is such a great idea. I had seen a few reviews and some photos of this new-ish place in Hopkins that had delicious looking breakfast and brunch items. D.Rough and I got out of bed early enough to make this brunch thing happen.

The inside of the place is cut in half by the bar. One side has booths and the other side has lower tables for larger groups. We got a booth with a couple of drink menus and started perusing cocktails. I found one that intrigued me more than the others and ordered it – A New York Sour: Hochstadlers Slow and Low whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, and a pinot noir float. Sounds weird, but it was fantastic. Truly incredible, to be honest. D.Rough had something with gin in it and what appeared to be part of a Christmas tree. She liked it just fine.

The menu has a lot of really unique things on it, all of which sound good, but I finally narrowed it down to two things: the stuffed French toast and the donut breakfast sandwich. I think you guys all know which one I chose – the donut sandwich. I really ordered this thing because it sort of sounds like a monstrosity. To my surprise, it was actually absolutely delicious.

It’s a maple glazed donut from my favorite donut shop (Yo-Yo Donuts)  cut in half like a bagel. Then they load it up with scrambled eggs, bacon (or sausage), hashbrowns, and cheese. The maple is about the perfect level of sweetness for this sandwich – not too heavy on the sweet ,but a nice maple flavor. And the fillings were plenty generous. This was definitely the right choice.

 

 D.Rough got the brisket grilled cheese. A good-sized sandwich with lots of delicious brisket and tons of onions (if you like that sort of thing). She was really happy with this choice and was even happier that the fries were worth raving about. They were really good.

Note: I'd steer clear of the housemade BBQ sauce. This may sound weird, but the flavor of it doesn’t go well with the sandwich. It immediately changes the sandwich into something you’d get at Sonic or some other fast food joint. Don’t use the BBQ sauce – it stands on its own just fine.

We were both really happy with this brunch outing and we look forward to going back here. There are plenty of other breakfast and brunch options for me to get, and I need to work my way through the whiskey menu they have there.

Great showing, Pub 819!!

Top 5 things about Pub 819

1. Donut Breakfast Sandwich
2. Brisket Grilled Cheese 
3. New York Sour 
4. Delicious fries 
5. It has a comprehensive whiskey list and great local beer options

Bottom 5 things 

1. Housemade BBQ sauce 
2. Cocktail menu isn’t on the website 
3. The rampant use of apostrophes in the phrase “Bloody Marys” 
4. Weird that they put children on one side of the bar and drinkers on the other side of the bar 
5. It’s on the opposite side of the Twin Cities from us (but we’ll still go there!)

www.pub819.com